Wrangling over Okinawa

The US says Marines on Okinawa are not a burden. What, you expected him to say something else?

The U.S. troop presence on Okinawa should not be seen as a burden but as a benefit, a senior Marine Corps general said Friday, despite calls from some Japanese leaders to move a major American base off the crowded southern Japan island.
Lt. Gen. Keith Stalder, commander of the U.S. Marine Corps Forces Pacific, said the more than 13,000 Marines on Okinawa play a key role in securing the region from threats such as North Korea, and said the presence should continue.
"I'm frequently concerned when I hear the word burden used as a description," Stalder said. "I suggest that it is an obligation under the alliance to do the hosting and basing of U.S. forces. And for that, the government of Japan gets the services of one of the best and biggest militaries in the world."
The U.S. troops on Okinawa — and particularly the future of the sprawling Marine Corps Air Station Futenma — have become a contentious issue between Washington and Tokyo.
Under a post World War II pact, the United States has about 50,000 troops in Japan. Most of the U.S. bases are concentrated on the island of Okinawa, which was a bloody battlefield during the war and was under U.S. jurisdiction until 1972.
To lighten Okinawa's load, both sides have agreed the Futenma base should be closed and about 8,000 Marines shifted to the U.S. Pacific territory of Guam. But Japan's new coalition government is divided over calls that a replacement for Futenma should be located off Okinawa or outside of Japan altogether.

By: Brant